Reading has really been a great distraction. I will share some of what I've found most inspiring.

The stages of water fasting sourced from http://cristivlad.com/the-five-stages-of-fasting-dr-nikolayev-russian-case-studies/

All of the information that follows is from the above site and based on Russian Dr Nikolayev's case studies (Director of the Fasting Clinic of The Moscow Institute of Psychiatry)  He claimed to have successfully treated more than 7,000 patients (as of 1972) suffering from neuro-psychiatric conditions by using therapeutic fasting. The average duration of a fast would be 30 days. Comments made by the website's author are also included. I've only included information that I feel are relevant to me and my blog. Please, visit the site. Very informative.

THE STAGES OF WATER FASTING

1. Food Deprivation – Eating Cessation – The First 2-3 Days

Sleep is reduced and superficial, patients are irritable

2. Acidosis Phase

Between the third and fifth days of fasting, food stops causing any stimulation to the patient. There are occasional headaches, sensations of dizziness – especially with the sudden change of body position (i.e. waking up or going from sitting to standing) -, nausea, and a generalized feeling of weakness.

Russian doctors stress on increasing water intake, as well as on exercising !! three hours a day. Say what?! This would be considered recklessness compared to your conventional ‘rest, stay calm and peaceful’ fasting advice.

Their rationale for such an active routine is that it helps the body to breathe, ventilate, and sweat, all of which helps it activate organs engaged in eliminating toxins from the body (skin, kidneys, bowels, liver, etc). They also used daily enemas for this purpose.

3. Compensation and Balance

During the fourth and seventh day, the body suddenly regains balance and the overall status of the patient is radically altered. With the feeling of weakness gone, the patient feels strong and motivated, his mood is improved. After the tenth day, weight loss stabilizes at 200g/day, the white tongue coating clears and the tongue regains its pinkish color. Patients who are catatonic experience a decrease of this state and their negative feelings begin to disappear. For those with auditory hallucinations, the inner voices tend to lose intensity. [1]

I’d like to emphasize that this simplistic picture is characteristic of that moment in time, the 60s and the 70s. Every human being is unique.  So, I’d suggest you take these reports with the adequate grain of salt that they deserve.

4. Breaking the Fast – Reinitiating Eating

After a few more days, the patient passes the crises and gains a feeling of euphoria. The patient’s symptoms begin to disappear and he feels very good, until the stored energy source is consumed. This occurs after about 30 days. By that time, the patient’s tongue is clean, his skin color is a healthy pink, bad breath disappears and he develops a “wolf’s appetite.”

I think that the duration of a fast depends on the amount of bodyfat the patient has. We know from medical literature of fasts extending to 382 days. The ‘rule’ is that the fast should be ended, when bodyfat becomes depleted (usually around 3%). This coincides with the wolf appetite mentioned by the doctor.

Hunger is the least of problems during prolonged water fasting. It goes away after glycogen is depleted and your body starts to efficiently burn fat. Hunger, the real one, comes back when your bodyfat is very low and energy cannot be efficiently drawn from fat; this is when muscle catabolism starts increasing. This is the point of no return – the point where the prolongation of fasting turns from safe to life-threatening.

However, the body has its own mechanisms to prevent this to occur. This is when NPY (neuropeptide Y) secretion increases significantly, allowing the subject to develop real ravenous hunger. And as I’ve said it so many times, folks complain about starvation when they have not eaten for a couple of hours. That’s not real hunger. The real one happens when bodyfat is extremely low. 

END of quotes taken from http://cristivlad.com/the-five-stages-of-fasting-dr-nikolayev-russian-case-studies/

Now, I realize that some of this information is outdated but I found it useful to my motivation. More motivating than that are these quotes from Dr. Paavo Airola's book, How to Keep Slim, Healthy and Young with Juice Fasting: The Age Old Way to a New You! 

During a prolonged fast (after the first three days), your body will live on its own substance. When it is deprived of the needed nutrition, particularly of the proteins and fats, your body will burn and digest its own tissues by the process of autolysis, or self-digestion. [...] ... your body will first decompose and burn those cells and tissues which are diseased, damaged, aged or dead. In fasting, your body feeds itself on the most impure and inferior materials, such as dead cells and morbid accumulations, tumors, abcesses, damaged tissues, fat deposits, etc."

During fasting, the proteins needed for the new cell buildings are resynthesized from the decomposed cells."  End of quotes from Dr Airola.  

I'm imagining my body devouring scar tissue from my bum knee that's had three surgeries, digesting necrotic tissue from my root canal cavitation that I cannot afford to have removed and decomposing the fat and cellulite that have taken up lodging on my butt and thighs. Visualisation is powerful!

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